The FSA's "independence" is a good laugh. While head of the FSA, Sir
John cooperated with a food industry funded group who set up a Forum to
establish guidelines on the media reporting of contentious science issues
like GM foods. And the head of the Scottish FSA, Dr George Paterson - the
former director general of Health Canada's Food Directorate, is reported
to have been involved in Canada's fast tracking of approval of a GM product
for Monsanto. Meanwhile, Sir John's critical views on organic food have
been described by his Irish counterpart, the Chief Executive of the Irish
Food Safety Agency, as "extreme". (The Irish Times, 5th September 2000)
http://ngin.tripod.com/fsa.htm

Britain's food standards watchdog has clashed with environment minister
Michael Meacher after he was asked by the minister to be more positive
aboutthe benefits of organic food.

In letters seen by the Guardian, Professor Sir John Krebs, chairman
of the food standards agency, has warned ministers not to challenge his
independence adding that it would be "inappropriate" to "support any particular
food promotion scheme".

Organic campaigners who have seethed for two years over the agency's
apparent antagonism to their movement are now threatening open warfare,
questioning Sir John's credibility,and suggesting a "more neutral body"
should conduct research into the health, quality and environmental differences
between organics and conventionally produced food.

The agency says there are no significant differences on safety and nutrition,
and its advisers prompted further anger recently by suggesting the campylobacter
food poisoning bug common in poultry could be more easily controlled by
factory farms than by organic or free-range producers.

But Sir John's cool response to Mr Meacher threatens to be the final
straw for organic supporters. The minister chairs a government advisory
group which produced an action plan to boost organic farming. It was endorsed
by Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, who said organic farming
and food offered "real benefits for the environment".

Mr Meacher wrote to Sir John in October asking whether the agency could
make "a positive but factual statement on the pesticide, additive, GM and
regulatory assurance benefits that are associated with organic food". Mr
Meacher said: "I do appreciate the FSA would not wish to see any words
not based on scientific evidence.

"However, it is a fact that organic food production uses a much narrower
range of pesticides and additives than conventional farming, eschews GMOs,
and that there are environmental benefits. I would hope that it would be
possible for FSA to acknowledge these points as a matter of consumer information
for those who wish to choose food produced by organic methods."

But Sir John replied that "the agency's position on organic food is
that it is not significantly different in terms of food safety and nutrition
from food produced conventionally". The agency had no remit on environmental
matters.

"The organic action plan team invited the agency to make a positive
factual statement about organic food in order to help organic producers
sell more of it. Our independence of industry interest is of paramount
importance to us. Only by maintaining this can we operate credibly in the
consumer interest.

"I am sure, therefore, that you will understand that it would be inappropriate
for the agency to make statements supporting any particular food promotion
scheme."

Sir John has since sent Mr Meacher a summary of a workshop last month
that considered whether further research was needed into organic food's
safety and nutrition. They will meet in the new year, although a date has
yet to be fixed.

Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, said of Sir John:
"The prejudice he is displaying is indefensible, given his position of
being charged with the responsibility of restoring public trust in the
food chain after all the previous food scares."

Peter Melchett, the association's policy director, has suggested that
unless the agency distanced itself "from Sir John's idiosyncratic views...
a more neutral body" should be found to conduct research.